Sunset Shimmer.
Former pupil of Princess Celestia, once a demonic entity bent on controlling her school, now a redeemer of antagonists with flimsy excuses, yet tragic pasts.
Also an average high school student going for a cup of ice cream.
One of those things didn't fit in with the rest.
"Um, hello? I'm here to order a cup of ice cream."
The owners of the ice cream stand, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, nodded.
"Sure thing, sweetie," Mrs. Cake answered. "Is there any cup you'd like?"
"Well..." Sunset played with her hair a bit. "What would you recommend for a heartbreak?"
The couple went "oooh" with pity.
"How long ago did it happen?"
"The heartbreak? I don't know, so many things have happened that I lost track of time. Maybe a month or two ago?"
The couple went "oooh" again, this time sounding genuinely sorry for the girl.
"So, what would you like? A cone, or a cup?"
Sunset hummed. "A cup sounds about right."
The couple "oooh"-ed again, finally getting on Sunset's nerves.
"Would you please stop it with the "oooh"-ing!? Is it really that weird to eat ice cream to deal with a heartbreak?"
"No, but it is rare for the heartbreak to be bad enough to require a whole cup of ice cream," Mr. Cake answered, his wife nodding in agreement.
Sunset rolled her eyes.
"Please, how big could it be?"
Sunset carried the cup of ice cream on her arm, with said cup being nearly as big as her upper body.
"How big could it be, I said. Give me vanilla, I said."
Sunset sat on a bench and took a deep breath.
"How did things end up like this?"
Sunset sat on a bench, kinda similar to the one in the present day, her chin resting over her palm.
Just then, Pinkie Pie popped out of nowhere and quickly noticed the girl.
"Hi, Sunset! What's wrong?"
Sunset briefly glanced at Pinkie, and sighed.
"It's nothing, Pinkie, I just... I guess I'm still bothered about the fact Flash and I broke up."
Hearing that explanation, Pinkie briefly frowned before she got an idea.
"I've heard that nothing helps with a heartbreak better than ice cream!"
"You say that from experience?"
"Yes and no: I've seen heartbroken people feel better after having a good cup of ice cream, so maybe you could be like that too?"
Sunset twiddled her fingers. "I don't know, Pinkie. Are you sure it could work?"
Pinkie Pie crouched down, held Sunset's hands, and beamed a smile.
"It's at least worth a try, right?"
"Right, that's how it happened. I guess I can't fault Pinkie for it, she's just trying to help, after all."
Then Sunset looked down at her "cup" of ice cream.
"This seems a bit too much, even I'm not that upset over-"
"Sunset?"
Sunset looked to her side to see the familiar face of Flash Sentry nearby, looking at her with a curious expression.
A second or so later, she realized what this meant.
No! Of all the people I could've met by chance, why did it have to be Flash Sentry!? I'm trying to forget about him, dang it!
"Sunset?"
The girl returned to reality and turned to see Flash looking at her with raised eyebrows.
"You were groaning and making strange faces, are you feeling okay?"
Sunset glanced at her surroundings, and finally at her unopened ice cream pot, which she tried to open as she replied.
"I'm going through some tough times, so a friend of mine recommended me to eat some ice cream to cheer me up."
Once she realized the cup wasn't opening, Sunset tried harder.
"Uh, Sunset-"
"I can do this, don't worry, you don't need to help me!"
"I'm not saying you can't, I just wanted to let you know you were trying to open it from the opposite side."
Realizing what that meant Sunset threw a bewildered look at Flash before she tried opening the cup from other side.
The cup opened with a *pop* soon afterwards.
"Maybe I should've picked an ice cream cone instead."
Flash shrugged. "I don't know, that cup looks like it could keep you busy for far longer than a cone."
"Yeah, and maybe the brain freeze I'd get by eating it too fast, which is likely to happen if a certain someone doesn't leave me alone, is going to keep me busy a bit longer too."
"Or, maybe a certain someone could keep you company and stop you from freezing your brain," Flash suggested with a shrug as he sat down. "That someone's had plenty of experience with brain freezes before, I'm sure he could be of some help to you."
Sunset couldn't tell if Flash knew who she was talking about, or if he was just trying to be funny.
Either way, she didn't appreciate it.
"I picked vanilla: Thought it'd be a decent change of pace."
Flash raised an eyebrow.
"Oh really? What flavor do you usually go with?"
Sunset looked at her surroundings, sweating bullets as she blurted the first thing that came to mind.
"Straw... late?"
"Strawlate?" Flash hummed. "I've never heard of that flavor before."
"That's 'cause I'm the only one who calls it that: It's a mix of strawberry and chocolate."
"Ah, combining the sweet flavour of chocolate with the slightly... spicy, for lack of a better word, flavour of strawberry? I see, that does sound like you, in a way."
Sunset maintained a smile as she rolled her eyes.
Now what could that mean, I wonder?
A moment of silence passed, before Sunset awkwardly spoke once more.
"H-How's your band doing?"
"Pretty well, all things considered," Flash answered, taking a deep breath before he scratched the back of his head. "You and the Rainbooms swept the floor with everyone, though."
Great, Sunset had an awkward, yet decent start for another conversation, and all it took was one big compliment to blush her speechless.
Good job, Flash, good job.
"O-Oh... w-well... s-so-"
"Sunset, sorry if I'm saying this out of nowhere, but please stop forcing yourself to make small talk: it makes me feel... uncomfortable."
Flash glanced at the ice cream.
"Right now, I would like to know why you bought such a big cup of ice cream in the first place."
Seeing this was her chance to come clean, Sunset took a deep breath and explained herself.
"Listen, Flash, ever since we broke up, I've had these weird... I don't know what to call them, but sometimes, when I think about what we used to have, I get all depressed, and gloomy, and, just... sad..."
Sunset looked at her cup.
"Pinkie Pie told me ice cream can help with heartbreak, so I chose to give it a shot."
Sunset looked elsewhere.
"But then you arrived, and... my mind went all over the place."
Flash looked at Sunset sympathetically.
"Sunset, our relationship didn't work. Most first-time relationships never do. But look at the bright side."
Flash put a hand on Sunset's shoulder, getting her attention.
"You have friends, you've managed to make up for your worse actions, heck, you even have your own apartment and a job! Those aren't things you should be able to afford!"
Sunset turned back to Flash, now sporting a smile.
"And besides, we can still be friends. Not "boyfriend" or "girlfriend," but friends."
With all that said, Flash released Sunset's shoulder, and she finally grabbed a spoonful of her ice cream.
"Could you help me eat this? I mean, even with an empty stomach, I don't think I'll be able to eat it all."
Flash smiled.
"With pleasure."
Sunset gave Flash the spoonful, and as the boy enjoyed the taste, Sunset grabbed another spoonful and ate it herself, letting out a little moan.
"It tastes so much different than I imagined!"
The pair shared a chuckle, and continued with the cycle of feeding: Flash, Sunset, and so on.
And thus, Sunset, having started the day somewhat somber, started her noon sweetly.